We Change, We Wait
by ivysaurrr
Summary: AU. "I'm not lost, I'm just a little confused on what to do." Kristen Gregory transfers to Westchester Academy, the exclusive boarding school, at the beginning of sophomore year. Massington & Krosh.
1. Trailer

**A/N:** Hello, all! (: -ivysaurrr here bringing you the trailer of my new story (the first part of this trilogy I'm planning and very excited for). Review because every writer loves to hear feedback! I've written up to chapter 3 already, but I'm not planning to upload until I have more done and a good number of readers so the updates are more consistent and I actually have a reason to update. :P

**Disclaimer**: Don't own anything! Except for this story line. ):

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**The Girl**

**K**risten** G**regory was always the wallflower at her old school. The advice giver. The confidence booster. The shoulder to cry on. The forgotten. But for some strange reason, the moment she steps onto the grounds of Westchester Academy, the most exclusive group in her grade seem to think that she's some kind of… A-list material? But not everyone is so accepting. And others? Some don't want to be _just_ friends.

--

**The Clique**

_**M**__assie __**B**__lock_

- "Ugh, my stalker is calling me. Again!"

- "Mass, that's the senior _captain_ of the varsity lacrosse team."

_**A**__licia __**R**__ivera_

- "That's my _Chanel_ you're stepping on."

- "Um, that's a Coach."

_**D**__ylan __**M**__arvil_

- "Shit, I love these breadsticks."

_**C**__laire __**L**__yons_

- "The bookstore ran out of gummy worms."

- "Uh oh."

_**D**__errick __**H**__arrington_

- "I need a favor."

- "Massie's going to hate me for this, isn't she."

_**C**__am __**F**__isher_

- "Yeah, we sort of had this _thing_."

_**J**__osh __**H**__otz  
_- "This calls for some retail therapy."

- "Did _he_ just say that?"

_**C**__hris __**P**__lovert  
_- "You're my new favorite."

_**K**__emp __**H**__urley_

- "You went through my _laptop_?"

- "Yeah… and I see you have a lot of free time on your hands…"

--

Every good story begins with a new girl in town…

--

**We Change, We Wait**

Coming Soon

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Excited?

Review and get your next 11:11 wish to come true!

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	2. One Un Uno

**AN:** you know what? i'll just put up chapter one anyways. not like the trailer gave up that much information :P i'm working on chapter 6 already :O but don't rush me ;D REVIEW and i'll put up the next chapter faster :D  
**Disclaimer: **don't own anything. except for the smoothie i'm drinking right now. GO MAGIC BULLETS!

* * *

**K**emp **H**urley ran over to the group, but not before doing his own little happy dance by shaking his light brown, skater-haired head and doing a combination of jazz hands and spirit fingers. "Guys, guys, guys!" He shouted, not able to contain his excitement.

But he had to get it off his chest. He couldn't get the dark blonde-haired girl out of his mind.

His friends, all sitting by the fountain, looked up at him with different expressions. Massie's being the one that counted the most. Unlike Cam's and Claire's that were ready to listen politely, Massie cut him off with a flick of her wrist. She turned back to Dylan, scooting closer. "So what exactly did he say?"

Dylan, tossing her perfectly tamed reddish-auburn hair behind her shoulder, leaned in to whisper the juicy gossip into Massie's ear.

"_Guys_," Kemp whined. "I have news though."

Massie glanced up and gave him an irritated look through her amber-colored eyes. "No, Kemp, we really don't care what you got when you measured."

Kemp rolled his eyes. "No, not that."

Kemp's best friend, Chris Plovert, snickered from the bench across from the fountain. His arm was slung around Alicia, who seemed to be his victim of the week—except Alicia, who seemed to be the only girl in the group that actually appreciated his little game. She snuggled her cheek against the soft fabric of his American Apparel black v-neck.

"Just let the guy speak." Chris said. "Then he'd shut up, Mass."

Massie held her chin up higher, as though she was trying to choose between her dignity or quiet and peace from Kemp. Whatever. She could patch her pride up later. "Fine. Talk."

"There's a new girl!" Kemp squealed girlishly.

"It's a new year. New students kind of come along with it." Massie snapped. "Is that what you had to interrupt everyone for?"

"She's not a freshman." Kemp added quickly, defending himself. "And she's really hot. I'd totally date her."

Derrick, who was sitting on the other side of Massie with his ankle resting on his other knee in a guy-friendly-crossing-legs way, stopped admiring his new Nike high tops (or really just wishing that Massie paid attention to him more) and snorted. "Kemp, you'd date any good-looking girl."

"Uh, no." Kemp shook his head and rolling his eyes. "I'd _kiss_ any good-looking girl. But date?" Kemp winced. "I save that for the rare case."

"What's your point?" Massie asked impatiently.

"That was my point!" Kemp said. "Hot new girl in our grade! Isn't anyone excited as me?"

The group looked at him with a prolonged silence.

"Um," Claire Lyons gave Kemp an apologetic look. "Sorry we're not exactly the best audience."

Kemp's shoulders slouched. He scrunched up his nose and gave everyone an annoyed look. "Fine. I'm going to go find her again then. You guys have fun being boring!"

Massie rolled her eyes, nodding and shooing him away with her hand. "You go ahead, K."

Kemp shook his head and ran. The last time he saw the girl was near Jamba Juice. She couldn't have gone too far.

"Shouldn't someone make sure he doesn't get into too much trouble?" Claire said slowly. Everyone looked at Claire blankly. Who would volunteer to do that? "You know what? I'm going to do the noble thing and go. I don't want the poor girl to think she's a target of rape or something."

And with that, Claire marched off to follow Kemp.

--

**K**risten **G**regory sipped her power-sized, energy-boosted Red Gummy smoothie and studied her schedule and the map the counseling office had given her. The campus was so much bigger than her old high school (well, duh) where she had spent such a horribly boring and uneventful freshman year that she had to beg her parents to send her to boarding school. She had been going _crazy_.

Kristen, as quiet as she usually was back home, was ambitious. She knew that there was no way she'd check off any of her lost list of goals if she just stayed in her little town in Northern California.

The door jingled as it was pushed open and a girl and a boy her age walked into the room.

"Why the hell would anyone feel as though they were in the middle of a rape attempt?" The boy said, shaking his head as he looked around the room. He was good-looking, but in the cocky, well-informed-of-his-good-looks way.

Kristen looked back at the pieces of paper. This didn't seem to concern her, so why be nosy?

"Please, you know it's true." Kristen heard the girl say. Then she heard the boy's footsteps but didn't think anything of it until she looked up to see him standing in front of her table.

"Hello?" Kristen said hesitantly, looking up at him with a confused look.

She was new and not expecting anyone to address her. I mean, she was just Kristen. Not the girl that guys drooled over. Not the girl that other girls instantly feared.

"You're hot and I'm Kemp." The boy said quickly, giving her a cheeky smile. "And if you're single, I'm hot too."

The girl, who had walked over, gave Kristen an apologetic look. "Oh God, sorry. He's not usually _this_ brash." She turned to Kemp and hissed. "What do you think you're doing?"

Kristen laughed for the first time since she had gotten to New York. Kemp, as cheesy as he was, was pretty funny. Friend material, Kristen decided. The girl was nice too. "I've seen that on a t-shirt before, but good job with the attempted originality."

The petite blonde girl looked at Kristen closer and smiled. "I'm Claire. Kemp here says you're new?"

Kristen nodded, feeling half-disturbed yet half-honored that she had been pursued by Kemp. "I'm Kristen. Are you guys sophomores too?"

"Yeah, but if you like upperclassmen, I can pass for a junior." Kemp grinned.

Kristen turned to Claire. "Does he always talk in pick-up lines?"

Claire rolled her eyes and shook her head. "Only during his time of the month." She gave Kemp a smirk and pushed him lightly towards the counter. "Order me a Peanut Butter Moo'd."

"Scandalous." Kemp scoffed and walked towards the cashier.

Claire turned back to Kristen with a twinkle in her aqua blue eyes. "He's stupid. Anyways, you want to sit with us during the welcoming dinner?"

Kristen's eyes widened. She never realized they were a couple. "Wait, just you two?"

Claire wrinkled her nose and made silent gagging faces. Um, scratch the whole couple thing. "As if. There's…" she looked up at the ceiling, counting in her head, "nine of us."

Kristen rubbed her lips together. Nine. That was a huge group, which only meant more new people and more people that could possibly not like her. The thought intimidated her, but the opportunity was just too great to pass. Who else was she going to sit with? Confused freshmen?

"Sounds great!" Kristen grinned. It wasn't even the first real day but she was sure she found a new group of friends. Hopefully they'd all like her…?

--

**C**laire **L**yons bit her lip as she walked over to her group's usual spot near the middle of the dining hall. Massie sat at the very end of the long mahogany table, looking as intimidating as always as she checked her nails for any white nail polish chips.

This was a _bad_ idea, Claire thought. At the time, it seemed like a great one. Kristen seemed really cool, not at all like the try-to-hard posers that always worked super hard to get into good graces with Massie and her friends. Kristen wasn't even fazed by Kemp's seducing skills—which, Claire might add, were really horrible—but it showed that she could be a keeper in the group.

Yet, when had Massie ever been good with change and new things?

"Guys," Claire cleared her throat, walking in front of her usual seat next to Cam. She motioned Kristen to go next to her. "This is Kristen. I invited her to sit with us tonight. That's okay, right, Mass?"

Massie looked up, giving Kristen a quick glance and shrugged her shoulders. "Whatev." She turned back to Derrick on her right and went back to whispering about something that seemed urgent.

Then again, anything that had to do with Massie herself was urgent to her, from debating mascara colors (what shade of brown was really right for her lashes anyways?) to what she was going to ask her mother to send in her next care package.

"Omigod!" Dylan giggled, covering her mouth and concealing her perfect pearly white—thanks to her mother, the famous Merri-Lee, and her styling crew—even though she had a perfect reason not to. "You're Kemp's little crush, aren't you?"

"Shut up, Dyl." Kemp said quickly across the table.

"Omigod, that's so cute." Dylan rolled her eyes and laughed. She looked up at Kristen and waved her hands towards the seat across from her and next to Claire. "Sit! Tell me what line he used on you. Was it a sweet-cheesy one, like, 'did it hurt when you fell from Heaven?' or was it sleazier, like, 'do you have a mirror in your pants?'?"

Claire shook her head, speaking up for Kristen. She knew Dylan's bold personality sometimes scared people off, especially new kids. "He was actually, surprisingly, mildly well-behaved."

"I'm Dylan Marvil." Dylan introduced herself to Kristen, placing a hand above her chest. "This is Plovert. He's a flirt but in a totally different way than Kemp." She said, pointing her thumb towards the guy on the left side of her.

"Am not." Chris Plovert said, unwrapping his arm around Alicia (finally!). He scooted his chair in more towards the table and leaned towards Kristen, giving her a smoldering look with his emerald green eyes. "But you know, you're my new favorite."

Claire was the only one that noticed the dirty look Alicia sent Kristen's way, but tried pushing it out of her mind herself. Alicia had some jealousy issues, especially when it concerned being territorial over the guys in the group.

Kristen laughed breezily, turning her attention to Josh sitting on Dylan's right. "And you are?"

Claire tilted her head as she watched the way Josh gave Kristen a surprised double-take and took off his NY cap and shook out his dark hair. Josh Hotz _never_ took his cap off, not for any girl. Not even for Alicia when they went out for half a year in the beginning of last year and she begged him to take it off when they went to the über-fancy, expensive restaurant a block away from the school.

And even though Josh was the most fashion conscious guy—dressing in only designer duds—and his cap was something that threw everything off balance, it always remained on his perfect head.

"Josh Hotz," Josh said with a perfect grin. "And I think we should hang out later."

Kristen, who was unfazed by both Chris and Kemp, tilted her head and smiled. "Actually, I'd like that."

* * *

**Currently Listening To:**_  
Tell Me Your Wish_ by **SNSD**

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	3. Two Deux Dos

**AN: **wow, my new story, THE LIST, got more reviews in 24 hours than this got in an entire week. :P WHAT AM I DOING WRONG? D: more reviews, faster updates... which leads me to think that people don't really care about updates for this one. SIGHH. okay. enough pity-hooring ;D

**DISCLAIMER: **BY GOLLY, it's disclaimed.

* * *

**M**assie **B**lock typed furiously on the black keyboard of her MacBook Air. How dare her roommate, Claire, bring in some new girl without asking Massie's permission first? It was Massie's little clique—_her _MAC (Massie and Crew)—or at least that's what the unspoken rule was.

**massiekur: **lyons! wtf were you thinking?  
**clairebear:** um, happy thoughts? :)

Of course Massie didn't mind the new girl. Kristen seemed nice enough and not power-hungry at all. Massie didn't have anything to worry about, not her group's reputation or her own. She'd allow this girl to slide under the radar for now… or at least until someone had a complaint.

**massiekur:** you're not completely off the hook yet…  
**clairebear:** hahaha, mass. i know you're too nice to not be jk :P

Massie rolled her eyes. Just her luck that Claire, being the only one of her friends who knew all her sides—even the insecure, not-so-in-control side that she rarely ever showed—also had to be the friend that tended to test Massie a bit too much.

"Ehma—_Massie_!"

Massie turned, wrinkling her nose when she saw her friend, Alicia Rivera, standing in her doorway, clutching a box of tissues to her ample cleavage as though it was the last pair of Giuseppe Zanotti's during a fall sample sale.

"Um?" Massie hesitated, closing her laptop and swiveling in her cushy desk chair. "Can I help you?"

Alicia grabbed a tissue out of the Kleenex box and dabbed away her invisible tears. "I can nawt believe the way Josh was flirting with Kuh-risten."

Massie raised an eyebrow. "Um, how about the way that Chris was flirting with Kristen? Shouldn't _that_ have been the thing bothering you? Just yesterday, you told me how much you liked him."

Alicia pouted, pushing out her gloss-plumped lips (the ones that she always claimed were 100% au naturel). "Yeah, but I had a total epiphany moment and I realized that, like, Chris has been just a rebound for me for the past five months."

"So you're saying you're back on Josh?" Massie said slowly, shaking her head. Alicia was a total beauty but was completely lacking in the brains department. Sure, she had a surprisingly good vocabulary (though she never used it), but lacked in common sense.

Didn't she know that there was no way Josh would just automatically like her again? That all this would only lead to trouble and heartbreak?

"Leesh," Massie said soothingly, trying a different approach. Calm and collected wasn't going to work this time. She needed to act like the great best friend that always knew what was right for her friends. "I really don't think this is a good idea. Have you tried being absolutely single for once? You know, it's actually very nice not being so dependent on boys. For instance, Derrick and I are solely best friends and I—"

"_Ehmagawd_," Alicia wailed, "_but I love Josh with my heart and souuuuuuul!_"

Massie exhaled. This was bound to get messy.

--

"So this is where you guys usually eat?" **K**risten **G**regory asked, surveying around the cozy little bakery. "It's quirky." She said with a grin, taking a sip from her spoonful of clam chowder (in a sourdough bread bowl, of course!).

"You said you're from North California last night, right?" Josh asked, instantly making Kristen feel all bubbly inside as she was reminded by how Josh walked her back to her dorm building after dinner and they ended up sitting on the steps for half an hour just talking. Josh had reluctantly left only because they had to get up early for class next morning, but not before making plans to meet for lunch the next day.

"Yup."

"Well," Josh blushed. "I know it's cheesy and you'll probably get annoyed by how stereotypical I'm being, but I thought that San Francisco has a lot of clam chowder, right? So…" He trailed off, gesturing at what the two of them were having.

Kristen pressed her lips together firmly. God, this guy was great. She could already feel a huge crush developing, and it wasn't just because of his long lashes or perfectly toned body. Or the great tan. Or the perfect smile.

But those were great pluses too.

"You're really sweet." Kristen said.

Josh gave her a funny look and returned back to his food.

Wait, was she not supposed to say that? Kristen furrowed her brows and took another sip of her soup. Kristen was always completely open with people. Like Kemp and his pick-up lines, she was definitely one of those people who just blurted out whatever she was thinking at the moment. Of course her thoughts weren't innuendos, but they weren't that weird either… right?

Josh looked back up at Kristen after a while of silence and sat back in his chair. "And I think you're really different." He said with a smile.

Kristen stuck out her tongue. "Jeez, you scared me. I thought I said something wrong."

Josh laughed. "No, I just stayed quiet because I was thinking what I could say to you. But I couldn't really, you know, just sum it up that well." Josh smiled sheepishly before putting down his spoon on the napkin by his plate. "So, um, tell me about pre-Westchester you."

Kristen wrinkled her nose. What was she supposed to say? That her life was absolutely boring? That she had a lot of friends but none who she felt that close to? That no guy had ever cared to talk to her except to ask for homework help or invite her to play soccer with them?

"I don't know," Kristen said with a shrug. "Nothing too interesting, I guess. Why don't you tell me about pre-Kristen Westchester."

Josh smiled. "Well… it could take a while."

"It's okay!" Kristen assured, ripping off a piece of bread from the bread bowl's "lid" and dropping it into the soup to soak. "I've got this entire meal to eat while listening."

"Okay, well, long story short," Josh puffed out his cheeks for a second before continuing, obviously trying to organize all the thoughts and memories together. "Massie and Cam sort of had a 'thing' in the beginning of the year but nothing really happened, but you should've seen the tension. You could totally sense they wanted to kiss each other and all that fun stuff but they were too busy trying to just be friends to avoid the whole awkward, liking best guy friend thing. After all that happened, Massie became really close with Derrick because Cam went to the winter dance with Claire, but they're really just friends too. But Claire and Massie are really close so Massie didn't want that to become awkward and—"

"Hold up," Kristen interrupted. "This whole thing is about Massie. And it's really confusing too. Skip to the parts I can understand." Kristen joked.

Josh laughed. "Fine. Shortened long story short. Massie and Cam liked each other but never got together. Massie thought Claire and Cam liked each other so she ditched Cam and became best friends with Derrick. Chris was always a player, but he and Alicia have been 'hooking up' I guess since near the end of last year? I don't really care, even though I guess everyone's expecting me to since Alicia and I went out for a while last year. But it was freshman year and that's when you learn a lot about yourself, you know?"

Kristen tilted her head side to side. "Not really for me. But maybe sophomore year's the year for that in my case?"

"Maybe," Josh grinned. "Kemp's cool, even though sometimes he acts like a total perv. Chris is really nice too. He just has a funny way of showing it. Derrick's really chill, except he kind of has a rep for being a teensy bit of a flirt, but honestly, that's not what he wants. And Cam's really nice.

"He has cool eyes." Kristen's eyes widened.

"Chyeah, he does." Josh laughed. "Dylan's really nice too. A bit bold, but nice. Claire's always happy and always up to good. Alicia… well, she has her really good moments too. And Massie's just Massie. She's cool when you get to know her."

Kristen smiled. All this talk about the group made her feel like she was really in it. Permanently. Yet she wondered if that was really the case.

"So Josh Hotz," Kristen said in a semi-serious, hushed voice. "What do you want to happen this year?"

"This year?" Josh repeated. He closed his eyes for a second, thinking about it seriously. "I think I like what's happening already." He said after he opened his eyes and looked at Kristen.

Kristen blushed on the outside. But on the inside, she couldn't help but hear that nagging voice in her head that was telling her that this didn't feel quite right.

--

**D**errick **H**arrington stretched his arms and tilted his head back against the comfortable sofa that he and Massie were currently sitting against on the floor. Their homework lay around them in desperate circle, trying to look organized and doable.

But they hadn't really been making much progress.

"Mass," Derrick groaned. "Do we really have to do this today? Mr. Jacobs didn't say it was due until—"

"Do I look like a procrastinator?" Massie tapped a pencil against Derrick's opened notebook. "Do you need help or something?" She said, scooting closer to take a look at the Algebra 2 textbook on Derrick's other side.

Derrick wanted on hold his breath—Massie being in such close proximity was making his hands a bit clammy and his heart (and his thoughts, damn hormones) a bit racy—yet he couldn't help but get a sniff of her clean-smelling shampoo. Leave it to Massie not to buy anything fruit-scented or floral.

It was just clean. Crisp. _Fresh_. Simple, yet so perfectly classy. Just like Massie herself.

"Actually, I kind of do." Derrick said, glancing over at the piece of notebook paper Massie had on top of the Pre-Calc book. "But I'm sure you don't need any, you smartass."

"Shut up," Massie laughed, elbowing Derrick playfully.

Flirty moments like these really made Derrick wonder. Were they really _just_ friends? Or were they more like he always hoped so? Had Massie been making him watch too many chick flicks?

All this self-questioning was starting to make Derrick feel more and more feminine.

"Oh yeah, Josh told me he really likes that new girl." Derrick brought up, changing the subject before he blurted out something about how good Massie's hair smelled or how he really, really, _really_ loved her.

Massie turned to Derrick and gave him an odd look. "You don't like her too, do you?"

Derrick froze. Why the hell would Massie think that? "I don't." Derrick said, blinking back at her stare.

Massie stayed silent for a while before shrugging. "Okay, so what about Josh and Kristen?"

"How's Alicia dealing with it?" Derrick asked. "You know, being Josh's ex and all."

Massie sighed, looking at Derrick with sad eyes. "That is the last thing I want to be talking about right now."

"So what's the first?" Derrick suddenly sat up. Maybe they could talk about the two of them. They could have the whole "let's talk about us" conversation that would end with a sappy one-liner (or two, if Derrick thought that was the smoother way to go) and a romantic kiss.

Massie tapped the eraser side of her pencil against her lips lightly. Derrick noticed how she had forgotten her usual gloss, yet her lips look softer and more kissable than ever.

God, he had to learn how to control his thoughts.

"Let's talk about math."

Disappointment, anyone?

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must i beg...?

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	4. Three Trois Tres

**AN: **HEYY :D it's been a week since i last reviewed, and i've kind of set a minimum for myself... for every chapter, i want at least 5 reviews xD haha, that's my own personal goal :D anyways. read, ENJOY, & review (: i love hearing from you people!

**DISCLAIMER: **disclaimed. AND I'M SEEING HARRY POTTER TODAY! :D

* * *

"You're doing pretty well for the new kid."** C**laire **L**yons giggled as she jabbed Kristen in the side as she walked by, sipping her latte carefully in the secluded boutique in the downtown area a couple of blocks away from the school. She grabbed a leather jacket off the rack and held it up in front of herself, looking in the dusty mirror along the wall.

"Buy that," Kristen said quickly, pointing a finger at the cute Rag & Bone black bomber jacket that Claire was currently debating whether or not it looked good on her. "And what?" She tilted her head and gave Claire a confused look in the mirror.

Claire turned to give the real Kristen, not her reflection, a playful roll of the eye. "You know, you're like instant celebrity and it's only been a week."

Kristen paused, self-consciously flattening down her hair. She tilted her head and looked at her teal, green-blue eyes staring back at her with a newfound sparkle. "Celebrity?"

Claire laughed. "Don't be so modest. You've been hanging out with Josh Hotz almost every day of the last week. He's totally smitten with you. Massie hasn't killed you, yet you're hanging out with our group without her official consent. You're doing well."

Kristen turned to the rack of clothing that was next to where Claire had gotten the jacket. She found a soft-looking flannel shirt and checked to tag to make sure it was an XS. But on the inside, she was freaking out and having her own little meltdown.

She needed Massie's consent? The girl hadn't even spoken to her, let alone even acknowledged her existence, even though she had been in a two yard radius for the past six days.

She spun around, turning to Claire suddenly, holding the hanger with the plaid shirt in her hands. "So I need Massie to send me a text or give me a document to sign or something?" Kristen half-joked, but part of her started to believe that the latter was actually the real case.

Claire snorted. "Actually, it's quite simple. The moment you talk to Massie when she's being one hundred percent herself is the moment you know she actually likes you. And believe me; you'll want her to like you."

Kristen exhaled loudly. "Great, I'm nervous."

Claire shook her head. "Don't even think you have to try. It's just Massie. She's really nice."

"Um." Kristen bit her lip.

Claire flicked her wrist. "You guys will become friends easily. It'll happen. Just forget I brought it the whole consent thing."

Too bad there was no way Kristen could "just forget".

--

**C**am **F**isher juggled his lucky soccer ball on his knees before passing it over to Josh, who wasn't exactly paying attention. The ball hit Josh's knee with a loud thud, causing Josh to drop his phone in the dewy grass and stumble back a bit.

"What the hell, man!" Josh shouted, throwing his arms up in the air in annoyance and bending over to swipe his phone off the ground. Luckily, it had stayed in one piece as he clean the screen carefully with the edge of last season's soccer jersey.

It had to be the most casual piece of clothing that Josh owned, something he _only_ wore when he knew he was bound to get sweaty. But then he always showered right after and put on a crisp new button down dress shirt (with the sleeves rolled up, of course!) and his prized NY cap.

That was Josh Hotz and his metro ways for you!

"Stop looking at your phone. I asked you if you wanted to play soccer and you said yes. Now you're texting Kristen nonstop?" Cam shook his head disgustedly. "You're so whipped, it's disgusting."

"I'm not texting Kristen!" Josh protested, scrolling down his phone with a concentrated look on his face.

Cam grabbed the phone from Josh and started reading his text messages. Josh tried to get it back but Cam had already grabbed Josh's hat off from its resting perch on a low tree branch and held it not-so-carefully in his hands.

"You come closer and the hat's going into the ground."

"You wouldn't." Josh gasped, his naturally licorice-red lips splitting apart.

"I would." Cam narrowed his blue and green eyes. He pointed a finger at the tree a few yards away. "Go stand by that tree quietly until I'm done."

"Fine." Josh mumbled dejectedly, ducking his head down and walking over to the tree. Once there, he kept muttering cuss words under his breath and scratching his head, hating the emptiness.

Cam looked down at the phone in his hand. Only one message in his inbox was from Kristen ('**Kris:** haha just doing homework. you? :)'), but the rest were from…

Alicia?

When the hell did _that_ happen?

**Leesh: **yoo look really cute in that cap ! did yoo get a new one ? [[;  
**Leesh:** ahaha i`m kidding, sillyyy. i know yoo would never replace it [[:  
**Leesh:** aha of course i know yoo besttt ! x333

"Josh, get your ass over here." Cam shouted towards his friend, not being able to take another one of Alicia's annoyingly-typed texts. He threw his friend's phone at his chest along with his baseball cap. Josh caught both easily. "What are you _thinking_? How could you play around with Kristen's mind like that? God, she's new! She doesn't know better than to trust you."

"It's not what it looks like." Josh groaned. "Alicia keeps texting me and she's coming off so strong. I can't just be mean to her and tell her to shut up, right? We're supposed to still be friends. We're all in the same group still."

Cam frowned, realizing that his friend kind of had a point. But he was so close to messing it up.

"I mean it," Josh said firmly. "I really do like Kristen. Alicia's just being overly friendly, that's it, okay?"

Cam shook his head, running a hand through his slightly-sweaty, yet still nice-looking dark hair. "Whatever. I'll mind my own business."

"And you should be the last one giving me girl advice." Josh continued, feeling pissed yet rejuvenated as he put his cap back on. "Remember what happened last year? With you and Massie? Seeing how she totally left you for Derrick, I'm sure the last thing I'll be doing is following your words. I'd have better luck talking to Kemp."

Cam looked at his friend, partially taken aback and also a little doubtful that Josh had really just said that to _him_, Cam Fisher, who was kind of like the co-alpha for the guys in the group (Derrick being the other).

"What'd you just say?" Cam said, taking a step closer.

Pretty boy was going to have his face beaten in!

"I said. Massie. Left. You. For. Derrick." Josh jeered, taking a step closer himself.

"You know it's so much more complicated than that."

"Do I? Because I think you were just in over your head, being the horrible person you know you are, Fisher."

"You're the shitty person here."

The two of the narrowed their eyes more, ready to jump at any moment.

"Josh?"

Well, speak of the devil…

--

**K**risten **G**regory walked over slowly to where Josh and another boy were standing. They were about to butt heads, so it seemed. The other guy, who she had learned earlier this week was Cam Fisher, had his fists clenched tightly near his sides. Josh's dark eyes were narrowed and he seemed to be just as pissed.

"Josh?" Kristen said nervously. "Cam?" She felt silly saying Cam's name, especially since this was the first time she had actually talked to him. "What's going on?"

Cam turned and gave Kristen what she swore was a pity look. "You know what? Why don't you ask Josh over here. I'm out."

He gave Josh one last glare before leaving, kicking his soccer ball up into his hand in one swift motion on the way.

"Sorry, did I interrupt something?" Kristen asked tentatively. Josh was now glaring at the ground, his fists now curled into fists. She could see that his muscles with flexed underneath the rolled-up sleeves of his jersey. But instead of feeling the urge to swoon about how fit he was, Kristen couldn't help but feel a little scared.

The last thing she wanted to see was Josh in a pre-fight mood. He was scary, intimidating, and anything but sweet. Kristen was growing more and more unsure if this was what she wanted.

Josh finally turned to Kristen, a blank look in his eyes. "Forget about it. It's nothing. Cam has effing issues."

Kristen stood on the grass, exchanging her weight from the balls of her feet to the heel in her sandals, which were now damp with the dew from the immaculately mowed lawn. What she hated most, after the fear of being alone and that feeling you got when you were starving, was when someone was talking bad about their friend. She hated it, because it always made her even more paranoid. Did her friends ever really like her?

Or was she just there?

"You want to talk about it…?" Kristen asked slowly.

Josh sneered. "Talk about it? What am I? A girl?" Josh shook his head. "Kris, I'm out."

He left Kristen speechless, confused, and most of all, hurt. She stood on the lawn, looking at Josh's retreating figure, wondering what exactly she did wrong.

* * *

IT GETS INTERESTING VERRRRY SOON ;D

Currently Listening To:  
**Make This Count  
**_by Boys Will Be Boys_

V


	5. Four Cuatro Quatre

**AN: **ahh! turns out the chapter AFTER this is the one that's DRAMAFUL. this is the one that leads up to it (: i'm excited for some action, aren't you? ;D

**Disclaimer: **disclaimed! & going to knott's in 3 days! :D EXCITED!

* * *

**D**errick **H**arrington pushed open the frosty glass door to the dorm building's lobby, his frown getting even more depressed when he saw Massie waiting, just like she assured him in her text.

"Boys can be so catty." Derrick complained, giving Massie an expectant look. She always had the wisest things to say. Calm words of wisdom that always made Derrick feel that whatever his problem was, it'd go away eventually.

"Everyone's catty." Massie said with a shrug, tapping her phone lightly against the counter. "What happened this time?" She said, looking up.

"Cam and Josh got in a huge fight and now they're not even speaking to each other." Derrick said, a look of disbelief on his face. "And Cam is my roommate so I have him being all brooding and Mr. Right and the way Josh has been doing something fishy with Alicia—"

"Josh mentioned Leesh?" Massie interrupted. Her amber eyes widened as she crossed her arms over her chest and looked totally worried.

Derrick closed his eyes and exhaled. Great. He came to Massie so she could make him _un_-stressed and now he was the one stressing her out. What a great friend he was.

"It's nothing. Alicia just kept texting him and it was a huge misunderstanding or something."

Massie opened her mouth in shock. "Alicia keeps texting him now?" She shook her head and brushed her dark bangs out of her eyes. "Why do my friends tell me _nothing_ anymore?"

"What's wrong?" Derrick asked, finally relaxing his shoulders and walking closer to Massie who was leaning against the counter, looking at the brink of a Massie meltdown. Derrick knew that this was as Massie as Massie could get, and he was the only guy who ever got to see it.

"Everything is falling apart. Leesh likes Josh again and I think she's plotting to get him back or something. I told her it was a horrible idea since I just know someone's bound to get hurt and no one will benefit anything from this. Leesh started crying and stuff and I haven't really talked to her in a week." Massie rambled, rubbing her temples with her fingertips. "But she's not supposed to start text-flirting with Josh! Especially when he's with that new girl because that just creates tension and if they get into this huge fight, I'm obviously going to have to take Alicia's side, but I don't even _want_ to take Leesh's side because she's the one that's wrong here, not Kristen! And I don't even know the girl, but I fight on justice's side, you know? God, that just sounded incredibly dorky."

Massie took a deep, shaky breath and exhaled. "I don't know what I'm going to do."

"Take it as it comes?" Derrick said, just repeating what Massie always told him when he had freak outs about soccer games or huge exams.

"No, I think this calls for a plan." Massie said, a newfound determined look on her face.

Derrick's brown eyes widened. As much as he loved the girl, Massie's plans always ended up just a little bit… out of her control. And knowing Massie, that's exactly what she hated.

--

**K**risten **G**regory sat down with Claire during lunch at V Bistro, the vegetarian-friendly little restaurant located near the edge of the school's campus. It technically wasn't a part of the school, and it was considered going off grounds for lunch (something not allowed on weekdays unless one had a special reason), but students regularly sneaked off to get a bite of the guilt-free lunch. Girls especially felt that just because they were eating at such a veggie-loving restaurant, they were burning carbs just looking at the green produce.

"So, what's up with Josh and Cam?" Kristen asked immediately, pushing the orange napkin (recycle!) aside and picking up the menu. "Because everyone always acts like they're friends or something but I saw otherwise."

"Oh yeah," Claire propped her elbows on the table and leaned in, her voice changing to a hushed whisper so other gossip-hungry Westchester Academy students wouldn't be able to hear. "What happened between them? The tension is crazy. I heard there was a fight? Had something to do with you?"

Kristen sat back, surprised. "It had to do with me?"

"That's what I _heard_."

She stared down at the menu in front of her. Did Cam say something bad about her and Josh was only defending? But that didn't seem likely when Josh hadn't spoken to her since Saturday, and that was two days ago.

Cam had passed her in the hallway just earlier that day before her first period. He had given her an awkward smile and walked into the classroom next door. Kristen shook her head, not realizing that she had gotten the shivers suddenly.

"Are you cold too?" Kristen asked Claire, who hadn't even bothered to consult the menu yet. Then again, Claire, being the healthy yet candy-loving person she was, probably ate at V Bistro regularly to help balance off her obvious obsession with gummy treats.

"No," Claire looked at Kristen oddly. "It's barely fall yet."

Kristen rubbed her lips together and shrugged. Their server came over with a happy grin and a loose ponytail.

"I'll just have the special with a mango smoothie." Claire said.

"And for you?" She turned to Kristen, notepad in hand.

"Grilled eggplant and lemonade, thanks." Kristen ordered. The server nodded happily and went back behind the counter. Kristen immediately turned back to Claire and the issue they had in front of them. "So were they always cool?"

Claire shrugged. "More or less. They weren't exactly the closest to each other in the group. Cam was _really_ close with Mass but then something happened. The two of them are best friends with Derrick, so I bet this is hard on him too."

Kristen clenched her jaw. "I just hope it wasn't my fault or anything."

"That'd be a guilt trip, right?" Claire made a face. "Don't worry. The group is tight, no matter what happens. Plus, neither of the guys got hurt. Nothing to worry about."

Kristen tucked a loose strand of her blonde hair behind her ear and frowned. "I doubt it's about me. I mean, Cam doesn't even know me. Why would he care, right?"

Claire laughed. "Well, you don't really know how Cam is. He cares about everyone."

"He sounds really great." Kristen commented, thinking about the cold look Josh had given her a few days ago after his almost-fight with Cam. At least Cam had looked at her with some sort of emotion. But Josh? He seemed distant. Different than how she remembered.

"He is. You'll see."

--

**A**licia **R**ivera twirled in front of the mirror, tugging down her strapless sundress lower so it showed more cleavage, not less like any normal person would have liked. She turned to her roommate Dylan, tilting her head. "This hot enough?"

Dylan tilted her head side-to-side. "Maybe you need a shorter dress that shows more leg than chest. You've been abusing the boob privilege."

Alicia rolled her eyes, turning back to the mirror to admire herself. "You can never abuse it, Dylan. You can only neglect it."

Alicia knew just how gorgeous she looked at all times. Her eyelashes were mascara-free yet looked like the after-picture in a CoverGirl ad. Her hair? Dark, silky, with a vavavoomy volume. And of course everyone always said that her friends were just as pretty as her—Dylan looked like a Disney Princess, Massie was a classic beauty, and Claire looked like a Gap model—Alicia herself believed that looking like a Spanish seductress was the only way to be.

"Josh is going to _so_ want me back." Alicia gushed to herself in the mirror, slicking on some La Prairie Cellular Lip Line Plumper. It was a secret that she made sure only her roommate knew of (though everyone kind of suspected it already).

"Uh huh," Dylan answered flatly, nodding her head slowly. None of the group really wanted Alicia and Josh back together. They all knew that Alicia, as sweet as she sometimes could be, didn't exactly have the best intentions. And Josh, as sweet as he was put out to be, sometimes had his priorities mixed up.

Alicia turned, giving Dylan an impatient look. "Can you hand me my earrings?"

"Which ones?" Dylan asked, hopping off the bed and walking over to Alicia's desk, which she had turned into a vanity. Each dorm room had a small bathroom to share and there wasn't enough space on the sink's counter for all of Alicia's accessories and makeup.

Her hand lightly trailed over all the gold hoops and the long dangly earrings—Alicia always liked drawing attention to her neck (and therefore, cleavage).

"The longest dangly ones you can find." Alicia said with a smirk.

Dylan handed Alicia the earrings as she felt her phone buzz in the pocket of her jeans. She flipped open the screen to check the text.

**Mass:** get leesh out to our fountain spot ASAP

Massie rarely used "ASAP" except in dire situations. Dylan grabbed Alicia's wrist just as she finished putting in her earrings. "Come on, Massie says there's something important you have to see."

Alicia stumbled a bit. "Omigod, Dyl. Watch the hair!"

Dylan stopped pulling Alicia as she saw Alicia speed up a bit in her Christian Louboutin pumps. As they were nearing the fountain, Dylan saw Massie glance at them then immediately nudge Josh in Kristen's direction.

"Hey Mass!" Alicia greeted, oblivious to what was happening.

Massie shushed her and adverted her glaze to the drama unfolding. Alicia's eyes followed where Massie was looking, watching as Josh Hotz took off his NY cap slowly and muss up the front of his hair.

Alicia looked at Massie with a questioning look. Was this what she thought it was? Because if it was, this could _not_ be happening.

* * *

dundundun :O  
review? ;D


	6. Five Cinco Cinq

**AN: **I'll update my other story as soon as I can, but school's starting soon and I'm starting to stress. Ah, SOPHOMORE YEAR. That means two AP's and an IB (sorta). SO, yeah. (: ANYWAYS. enjoy! that KROSH moment you've all been waiting for? :D

**Disclaimer:** I kinda want Olive Garden right now.

* * *

**K**risten **G**regory was completely absorbed in her conversation with Kemp, who surprisingly was a great listener and friend to talk to when he wasn't testing out his cheesy pickup lines. She didn't even notice Josh walk over and take off his cap in a dramatic manner.

"K?" Josh asked hesitantly.

Kristen looked up in surprise. Josh hadn't talked to her since Saturday. And from what she told Claire earlier that day during lunch, she also hadn't expected him to even care about her again. She was starting to think that maybe it was just a tiny fling, a flame that burned out quickly.

Well, what did she expect? Kristen herself felt she was a boring person.

"Hey, I'm really sorry about what happened Saturday." Josh winced. "I should've texted you or called you to hang out. I just didn't want you to have this bad idea of me and thought if we both just cooled off a bit…"

"It's okay," Kristen automatically said. What Josh said made sense, right? It wasn't his fault. He was Josh Hotz. And he hadn't really hurt her yet nor done anything to lose her trust. "I was just confused."

"I was too." Josh made a face, running his hand through his hair nervously. "But I thought it out and to prove to you that I'm not just playing with you, will you go out with me?"

… What?

Kristen's eyes widened. She had only been at the school for a week and she had already gotten asked out by a guy? She wondered if things were moving too fast, or maybe everything was just falling into place.

She'd never had a real boyfriend. Sure, she'd gone out with groups of friends back in middle school and not that much during her horribly monotonous freshman year. Was she even ready for this?

Could anyone _not_ be ready for this?

"Yeah," Kristen nodded, swallowing and forcing herself to smile.

Josh grinned. "Alright. We should start hanging out a lot again." He suggested as he plopped his beloved NY cap onto Kristen's head, earning audible gasps from everyone around them.

Josh _never_ let anyone wear the hat, especially since he rarely ever took it off. Never had he even let Alicia touch the hat. But now Kristen got to wear it?

Kristen tentatively touched the cap on her head with the tips of her fingers. She felt a bit silly, thinking to herself that she must have looked really stupid wearing it. But it meant a lot.

"Thanks." Kristen said. _Thanks?_ Was she even supposed to thank him?

"It's yours now." Josh replied. "Don't lose it, please?"

"I won't!" Kristen said, maintaining a cheerful tone even though she was silently freaking out on the inside.

Why didn't this feel right?

--

**M**assie **B**lock winced as Alicia stomped into her room and shouted every known curse to a not-so-innocent fifteen-year-old. "You need Midol?" Massie said through clenched teeth. Alicia's voice, already not the most pleasant noise ever, was even worse when she was wailing and shrieking.

Who even _liked_ hearing shrieking?

Alicia stomped her pump-clad feet against the hardwood, not caring if it scuffed either. "I'm going to kill that bitch!" Alicia screamed. "I'm going to push her into a ditch and kick dirt over her head and laugh!"

Massie flinched. "Alicia, you're so overreacting."

"I am nawt!" Alicia shrieked. "It's not effing fair that after all Josh and I went through, he still chooses the new girl over me!"

Chooses? Excuse me?

"What do you mean _chooses_?" Massie narrowed her eyes, no longer feeling as calm and neutral as before. "Josh had no other choice than Kristen. It's not like you've been seeing him too."

"But we've started talking a lot again." Alicia sniffed, calming down a bit and sliding herself onto Claire's unmade bed. Alicia bunched up the white comforter underneath her in her fists. "I thought he liked me again."

Massie breathed deeply, reminding herself to refrain from being mean and telling off Alicia with the honest truth. Instead, she put on a brave smile and prepared to sugarcoat.

"Leesh, you and Josh have had a lot of history. And sometimes, it's not good to bring back the past. Sometimes it's better to just move on and accept that things have changed. I'm sure that if you guys went out again, things would have just happened the same way. And maybe you guys did text a few times, but Kristen and Josh seem to have really hit off. Maybe it's best for you to just back off for a bit and let them be. If they don't work out, you'll still have a chance, Alicia. Don't freak out so much."

Alicia remained silent, most likely seething and thinking violent, destructive thoughts. (That's the loveable Alicia Rivera for you!)

"Leesh?"

"This isn't over." Alicia said ominously, tugging at her hair. "Until I say it's over."

Massie sighed. Looks like she had to find another way to calm Alicia down. It was time for her plan to kick into action. "How about this, Alicia. Leave it up to me, okay? I'll plan something. Just don't do anything without my permission."

Alicia looked at Massie with hopeful eyes. "So you'll help me?"

Massie nodded her head, absentmindedly playing the ends of her slightly wavy, chestnut brown hair. Just then, Dylan strolled casually into the room. When she realized Alicia also sitting there, a huge smile crept onto her face.

"Wasn't that _sooooo_ epic?" Dylan giggled as she wiggled next to Alicia on the bed, purposely pushing her buttons. Dylan received a glare from Alicia, who then hopped off the bed and trudged out of the room noisily.

"Dyl…" Massie warned.

"What?" Dylan giggled again. "That was funny. Did you see her face? She's so uptight about this thing. Kristen's nice, but it doesn't seem very long term. Why does she have to act like a boy not liking her _again_ is the end of the world?"

"It's Alicia." Massie rolled her eyes. "Try to be more sensitive, even though I know you're the last person to be good at that?"

Dylan shrugged, her Sprite can-green eyes wandered around Massie and Claire's room. She took note of the way Massie's side was so much more simple and clean than Claire's, whose side of the wall was covered with pictures of their group. "She's my roommate. I have to deal with her enough already. Why are we even friends with her?" Dylan whispered.

Massie looked at Dylan impatiently. "Because you can't just ditch your friends after hanging out with them for a year. Plus, she was your roommate and Josh's girlfriend. And the last time I lost my patience with her, she said she'd find a way to get her dad to sue my dad's company."

"For no reason?" Dylan raised an eyebrow. "How the hell would he win?"

"Len Rivera has never lost a case." Massie said, looking at Dylan seriously. "And I'm pretty sure, knowing the way my dad runs a business, he'd find a way to sue."

A heavy silence fell among the room. Massie awkwardly played with her white gold Tiffany charm bracelet.

"So then we're stuck with her?" Dylan said after a while, her face looked crestfallen. She raked her fingers through her red hair. "Not fair." She pouted, sticking out her glossed bottom lip.

Massie stood up from her desk chair, where she had been doing her homework until Alicia barged in, and walked over to where Dylan was sitting. "I guess so. But I was hoping you could do me a favor?"

Dylan Cheshire cat-grinned, knowing that a "favor" in Massie's language could only mean participation in one of her little projects or plans. "Love to."

"We're going to have to watch what Alicia's planning to do to Josh…" Massie said, scratching her head. "Because I doubt she's going to listen to me and my advice."

"I'm on it!" Dylan pumped her fist. "Want to sneak into Josh's room or something? We can wait until one day when Josh and Kemp are absolutely gone."

"Sounds fun."

--

**J**osh **H**otz slid his John Varvatos Henley over his head just as Cam walked into his room. Josh didn't bother to even acknowledge his presence since they weren't exactly the best of friends at the moment.

"So I guess you'll have to start doing your hair." Cam said quietly, scratching his head.

Josh turned to give Cam a narrow-eyed look. "You gone yet?"

The last thing he needed was Mr. "Sweet And Sensitive And The Entire World Loves Me (And My Cologne)" to start judging him again and criticizing every single freaking little mistake he made. Come on, he was only fifteen. Wasn't he supposed to be breaking hearts and having regrets?

"If you're serious about Kristen, that's great. I just didn't want you to lead Alicia on too." Cam said, holding up his hands in mock surrender.

Josh rolled his eyes. Cam always had a point. "Alicia and I are friends. Isn't it good to be friends with your ex's?"

Cam flicked his hair out of his eyes before stating the obvious. "That's if both parties are completely over each other."

Josh made a disgusted face. "I was over her before I broke up with her."

Cam raised an eyebrow. "Um."

Josh shrugged. "If she's not over me, that's her problem. Don't make me look like the bad guy." With that, he turned and pretended to be completely in his reflection in his laptop's plain black screensaver.

Pretended?

"You can go now." Josh said after a minute when Cam still wasn't gone.

How annoying could a guy get?

"See you at dinner, I guess." Cam said uncertainly, stuffing his hands into the pocket of his jeans and strolling out of the room.

Josh let out a sigh of relief. He grabbed his cell off his desk and opened it to read his latest text. He didn't want her to think that he was ignoring her or anything.

**Josh: **sorry, cam came in :P see u at dinner?

Josh didn't have to wait long for a reply. Sure, she was probably always waiting for his text, but Josh Hotz didn't mind eagerness. (Or desperation.)

**Leesh:** yup, see ya gorgeousss [[;

* * *

**you know what to do**

**;)  
**


End file.
